It often happens that an important part of the medical treatment of an arm or shoulder injury consists of the rigid immobilization and support of the arm of the injured person, usually accomplished by means of an orthopedic brace. Such injuries typically involve bone fractures and strain, tearing or rupture of one or more connective ligaments. After reduction of the fracture and repair of ligaments, the injury is treated by holding the shoulder in a neutral position and immobilizing the arm in a rigid cast. The rigid cast, which is typically molded plastic or resin, is replaced from time to time over a period of several weeks as swelling is reduced. Such rigid casts are heavy, limit the mobility of the patient, and may cause joint stiffening and muscle atrophy. It will be appreciated that because of the rigid nature of the molded cast, wound treatment procedures, bathing and skin treatments must be postponed until the cast is removed.
Such treatment may be required in order to allow healing of the arm or shoulder after surgery, or simply to allow natural healing by removing stress from the injured limb. Healing may occur through the recession of inflammation, for instance, or through the regeneration of bone or muscle tissues after a broken bone is set or after surgical correction of a physical disfunction. Examples of such disfunction are traumatized or arthritic joints or traumatized soft tissues.
The range of such dysfunctions and of the required treatments obviously varies greatly, and each different treatment may require a different type of immobilization and support of the limb. Shoulder injuries may require that the arm be supported in a lower posture, while arm injuries may require that the arm be supported in a more elevated posture. Similarly, the healing process may be optimized if the arm is angled more toward the front of the patient's body, while in another type of injury or for a different patient, angling the arm more toward the rear may be optimal. Still further, the physician may prefer to position the hand lower than the elbow in some cases and higher than the elbow in other cases. It may also be desirable to position the elbow at an angle either greater or less than a right angle. It is also often necessary to adjust an orthopedic brace during use, and it is obviously desirable to be able to reconfigure a brace for use by a different patient.